This document discusses assistive technology (AT) and its uses in education. [1] AT is defined as any item or equipment that helps individuals with disabilities increase their functional abilities. [2] AT can range from low-tech to high-tech solutions and is used across various subject areas and disabilities to help with tasks like organization, note-taking, writing, and accessing reference materials. [3] The document provides examples of AT for visual, hearing, and attention disabilities and discusses implementing AT through the individualized education plan process.

1. Assistive Technology in the
Classroom
Colleen Beyer
Fall 2012

2. What is Assistive Technology (AT)?
 The IDEA (Individuals with Disabilites Act) defines AT as
"any item, piece of equipment or product system, whether
acquired commercially off the shelf, modified or customized,
that is used to increase, maintain or improve the functional
capabilities of individuals with disabilities" (utexas.edu, 2000).
 promotes greater independence by enabling people to perform
tasks that they were formerly unable to accomplish, or had
great difficulty accomplishing, by providing enhancements to,
or changing methods of interacting with, the technology
needed to accomplish such tasks (Wikipedia, 2012)
 AT may be no technology, low technology, or high technology
(Behrmann & Jerome, 2002)

3. Assistive Technology for Mild Disabilities
6 areas of instruction where AT can assist students:
 Organization – flow-
charting, task analysis, webbing, and  Access to reference and
outlining
general education
 Notes taking – structured materials – internet
outlines in which students fill in communications, multimedia, and
information universal design
 Writing – word  Cognitive assistance –
processors, grammar and spell- tutorials, drill and practice, problem
checkers solving, and simulations
 Academic productivity –
spreadsheets, databases, graphics
software (Behrmann & Jerome, 2002)

4. Visual Disabilities
 Assistive technology programs that run on off-the-shelf computers
can speak the text on the screen or magnify the text in a word
processor, web browser, e-mail program or other application
 Stand-alone products designed specifically for people who are blind
or visually impaired, including personal digital assistants (PDAs)
and electronic book players provide portable access to books, phone
numbers, appointment calendars, and more.
 Optical character recognition systems scan printed material and
speak the text. Braille embossers turn text files into hard-copy
braille.
American Foundation for the Blind, 2012

5. Hearing Assistive Technology
 Hearing assistive technology systems (HATS) are devices
that can help you function better in your day-to-day
communication situations. HATS can be used with or
without hearing aids or cochlear implants to make
hearing easier—and thereby reduce stress and fatigue.
 Situations that can increase difficulty in hearing:
distance between instructor and student, competing
noise in the environment, poor room acoustics
 Solutions: Personal Frequency Modification
Systems, Infrared Systems, One-to-one
Communicators, Computerized Speech
Recognition, Closed-captioned TV
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2012

6. Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder
Electronic math worksheet software and talking
calculators can assist with computing, aligning, and
copying math problems on paper
Audio books, reading software, speech
synthesizers, and optical character recognition may
improve reading comprehension and fluency
Portable word processors are helpful with ADHD
students who have trouble with handwriting
(Raskind & Stanberry, 2009)

7. AT in Higher Education
 Assistive technology is addressed on an individual-need
basis with the majority of schools requiring
documentation in order for it to be used.
 Funding is the main barrier for implementation in
colleges and universities.
 Student is responsible for contacting the appropriate
program at the school to identify themselves as a
student with a disability and to request necessary
accommodations. The student must also provide
paperwork that documents his or her disability. If the
student does not identify him or herself as a student
with a disability in need of accommodations, the college
is not obligated to provide accommodations to the
student.
(Simon Technology Center, 2011)

8. Steps to Finding a Technology Solution
 Collect child and family information
 Identify activities for participation
 What can be observed to indicate
success?
 Brainstorm different AT solutions
 Try it out
 Identify what worked
(National Center for Technology Innovation and Center for Implementing Technology in Education, 2006)

9. Other Considerations
 It is important to emphasize the problem is not the
impairment.
 Can the work be modified?
 Is it possible to modify the environment?
 Can hardware, software, or equipment currently
being used be applied to the situation?
 Is there something commercially available that will
solve the problem?
 Can something be created or modified to solve the
problem?
(UNUM, 1999)

10. Developing an Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
 The IEP describes the goals the team sets for a child during the school
year, as well as any special support needed to help achieve them.
 Referral and Evaluation: a conference with parents, a conference with
the student, observation of the student, analysis of the student's
performance (attention, behavior, work completion, tests, class
work, homework, etc.)
 The professionals on the evaluation team can include: a psychologist, a
physical therapist, an occupational therapist, a speech therapist, a
special educator, a vision or hearing specialist, others, depending on
the child's specific needs
 IEP The next step is an IEP meeting at which the team and parents
decide what will go into the plan. In addition to the evaluation team, a
regular teacher should be present to offer suggestions about how the
plan can help the child's progress in the standard education
curriculum.
(Bachrach, 2011)

11. Georgia Project for Assistive Technology (GPAT)
 The Georgia Project for Assistive Technology (GPAT), a unit of the
Georgia Department of Education, supports local school systems in
their efforts to provide assistive technology devices and services to
students with disabilities. Funded since 1991, GPAT has focused on
building local assistive technology resources by providing quality
professional learning and technical support services.
 The mission of GPAT is to improve student
achievement, productivity, independence and inclusion by enhancing
educator knowledge of assistive technology and increasing student
access to appropriate assistive technology devices and services.
(Georgia Department of Education)

12. References
American Foundation for the Blind. (2012). Assistive Technology. Retrieved from
http://afb.org/section.aspx?FolderID=2&SectionID=4&TopicID=31
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2012) Hearing Assistive Technology. Retrieved from
http://www.asha.org/public/hearing/treatment/assist_tech.htm
Bachrach, Steven. (2011). Individualized Education Programs. Kids Health. Retrieved from
http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/learning/iep.html#
Behrmann, Michael, Jerome, Marci Kinas. (2002). Assistive technology for students with mild disabilities: update 2002. ERIC Digest.
Georgia Department of Education. Georgia Project for Assistive Technology. Retrieved from http://www.gpat.org/Georgia-Project-for-
Assistive-Technology/Pages/default.aspx
National Center for Technology Innovation and Center for Implementing Technology in Education. (2006). Help for young learners: how
to choose AT? Retrieved from http://www.ldonline.org/article/8088
Ramp Up to Access. (2000). Assistive Technology. Retrieved from http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~wilbur/access/assistive.html
Raskind, Marshall, Stanberry, Kristin. (2009). The Best Software and Gadgets for ADHD Students. ADDitudeMag.com. Retrieved from
http://additudemag.com/adhd/article/print/6585.html
Simon Technology Center. (2011). Assistive Technology Accommodations in Higher Education. Retrieved from
http://simontechnologycenter.blogspot.com/2011/07/assistive-technology-accommodations-in.html
Wikipedia. (2012). Assistive Technology. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assistive_technology
UNUM. (1999). Assistive Technology Decision Tree. Retrieved from download.microsoft.com/download/7/e/b/7ebfb5a1-69af-4e2a-
aba7-7f11e2d66fed/atdecisiontree.pdf